Disclaimer: I own neither "K-On!" nor "The Little Mermaid."
Be prepared for extreme OOC from the Ursula character. Her past will coincide with her character more, whenever I decide to reveal that.
I used "Fuwa Fuwa Time" translated lyrics from animelyrics dot com.
I am assuming Eric had a concussion in the movie, because Ariel did not resuscitate him. Probably would have ruined the whole story plot. They kiss; the end.
-.-
"The Little Mio"
Chapter IV: Encounter
Mio was completely possessed.
During her routines of preparing for bed and getting up the next morning, her answers to formal greetings from others were dismissive and airy, lacking any conscious thought on her part. Mio had never been easily engaged, but she would always spend a considerable amount of pained effort to respond appropriately. Instead of her anxious and pensive frowns to accompany her simple answers, she was positively euphoric and careless of anything but her human Prince.
Her many half-sisters couldn't possibly know who Ritsu was, but they were older and familiar enough with Mio's odd behavior. When Mio would sing spontaneously with grey glazed eyes, her half-sisters only confirmed their suspicions: Mio was in love.
It took not an hour before King Akiyama heard through the gossip-mongering pipeline of the merfolk.
"My Mio, in love?" King Akiyama laughed to himself on his throne. He was surprisingly not possessive of his youngest, possibly from so much experience with marrying off his other daughters. "Who could it be? What sort of man does she like, I wonder? Perhaps one of the future candidates for the throne—that would be wise, or one of my advisors—she was always of high intellect, or Mio might prefer a merman removed from the typical social scenes…oh my—this won't do. I'm as clueless as my chattering daughters and wives. But…Nodoka might have an idea…" King Akiyama used his trident to send a summons to the crab advisor.
Nodoka took longer than usual—not that King Akiyama noticed—because she was horrified by the sudden summons. The King rarely called on her for anything. Normally she would be thrilled to be needed in some way, but this was surely her career's end. King Akiyama had found out about Mio's egregious actions, and Nodoka would be responsible. She floated hesitantly towards her King, claws pulled in close to her shell in unconscious defense. The poor crab was terrified.
"Nodoka. How have you been getting along with my Mio?" King Akiyama began.
"Sir, I don't know where to begin." Nodoka was internally counting down to her dismissal from her highly esteemed—in her opinion—position.
"Well no more about her feelings—I've had my fill of that. She seems to be focused on something, someone," King Akiyama drawled.
"Ah yes, she has wretched tastes," Nodoka frowned miserably.
"Really? Well that's a little disappointing. I suppose he's a recluse then—" King Akiyama said.
"I wouldn't say that. He seemed more reckless than anything," Nodoka rejoined, allowing the analysis of the human surfer to override her nerves.
"A daredevil, you say? Well then at least he sounds capable and strong!" King Akiyama put an enthused fist up, flexing his bicep in the process.
"Perhaps, but he had the most peculiarly small frame I've witnessed of men…" Nodoka murmured in response, more than thrown-off by the turn of conversation. She was confused by this point and spoke on impulse, "Wait. My liege, why are you supportive of the princess's whimsical fancy?"
"I pride myself on being a good father, Nodoka. If my Mio wants someone, then she will have him," King Akiyama pointed a trident threateningly, emphasizing his control of his kingdom and the outcome.
"My King. I stand amazed albeit with some awed horror. That you can change your law and belief regarding humans for your daughter—indeed you are a good father!"
"Well, I—yes." King Akiyama was tickled by the flattery. His citizens adored him for his easy-to-please nature, but they were equally fearful of his fitful temper. And with dawning comprehension of the words, "WHAT? MIO LOVES A HUMAN! ?"
-.-
"Watching your face so intently
And only in my dreams can we ever
Get close to each other," Mio sang to herself in her secret cave.
"Mio, Mio-chan! !" A hyperactive Mugi zipped past. "Look what Yui-chan found for you!" Mugi held out two posters—laminated—in each of her fins.
Mio reached out for the closer one—Mugi was twirling them around like rowing paddles—and the mermaid princess nearly fainted from cuteness.
The first poster had a title of "The Foster Kid." Its description was, "When a young mourning widow finds solace in a forgotten child…" Below the words was a picture of a comely actress sitting on a bench, heatedly staring at a small child. The child—unmistakably Ritsu—was kneeling on the ground with one knee bent, palms up and outstretched towards the seated woman. Likely ten years ago, Mio could readily identify that easy confidence in Ritsu. It was all too charming, and Mio was very delighted. She did not reflect on why the poster had a title and description, not being familiar with films in her Mer world.
She hung the new treasure on the most visible part of the cave walls.
Next Mio grabbed for the second poster, a more recent photograph of her Prince. It was a bird's-eye view of Ritsu lying casually next to one of those planks. Ritsu was decked in a loose tank and long shorts—humans called them board shorts. Ritsu was staring lazily at the camera, an indifference that made the viewer curious. Since Mio had no idea that this photo was advertising the board, her eyes were sold on Ritsu's striking facial features and those achingly touchable limbs. Her tailfin flapped wildly.
Mio hung this poster next to the previous one and went back and forth between squealing and rubbing her cheek against the laminations. Mugi was highly entertained by this. Both were unaware when two figures came storming in.
"MI-O! !" King Akiyama bellowed. It shouldn't have been surprising by now, given his disposition, but still,
"Otou-san! ?" Mio backed into her posters protectively, thinking they needed it more than her. As usual, Mugi went behind the curve of Mio's back, really not wanting to deal with the King.
"What is this! ?" King Akiyama pointed his trident viciously at the posters behind his daughter.
"Let me expla—" Mio tried.
"There can be no explanation! How many times have I told you? You are not to interact with humans in any form! And now you have some silly fascination with one of them! ?"
"It's not silly, otou-san! You don't even try to reason with humans; you just continue your war with them! But this human is different…"
"How so?" King Akiyama asked sternly, clearly indicating he couldn't be budged on the matter.
"…I love him."
"…"
King Akiyama had no reaction, nothing to say to this. His face had gone from furious to expressionless, and that was disturbingly frightening. Without warning, he lifted his trident in the air, and all of Mio's overworld treasures were hurtled at the posters. The crashing and tearing was unbearably loud to the mermaid princess, and it left the posters in unidentifiable shreds. The rest of her treasures were broken or bent to uselessness.
The King, believing nothing needed to be said at this point, took his leave.
Nodoka, having not been dismissed from duty, came into the light. She felt as if facing Mio now was worse than any discharge.
Mio looked shattered and betrayed. Before allowing herself to burst into tears, she eyed Nodoka wearily, "How could you tell otou-san about my cave and Ritsu? Does your loyalty only stand for him? Don't I deserve some too?"
Mio took off sobbing with Mugi swimming after her wounded Mer friend.
-.-
"Oh this is just too grand," cackling burst from the black cloud. "First, Akiyama's clumsy daughter trips her human when my play on waves couldn't, and now the brat is most vulnerabe after Akiyama's enraged reaction. The little ninny will be most impressionable at this time. I must make my move."
The cloud dissipated as the owner of the scheming voice moved towards the exit.
"I'll show that Akiyama that I'm still the most eligible bachelorette, and that I'm so much more than a perfect wife among his dozens! ! I'll have him by the tail when I seize his precious daughter. I'll be free of this damnation and have my vengeance," the Octopussy Witch, Ui, sauntered out of her underwater cavern.
-.-
Sawako had Ritsu almost convinced that there was no singing angel that saved her that day. She had driven the younger girl immediately to the hospital after the incident and found that Ritsu had suffered from a moderate to severe concussion. Luckily, there seemed to be no noticeable brain damage, but Ritsu was to return if any lingering symptoms appeared. Unfortunately, the doctor also agreed with Sawako when Ritsu had rambled off about her savior, classifying it as temporary amnesia.
Ritsu—under house arrest for her own health, not that she minded it—was more than a little disappointed. She couldn't stop reliving the fantasy that some guardian angel had rescued her and then comforted her with song.
"Wouldn't I have drowned if I had a concussion in the waves?" Ritsu said. Sawako and she were in their usual positions on the fluffy carpet.
"The waves pushed you to shore. Consider it a miracle and be thankful," Sawako said.
"It was definitely a miracle. That girl—"
"No, Ritsu. Not this again. How many professionals am I going to have to take you to? If a girl really did save you, she would have gone the extra step and called for help. Consider also that you're fabulously wealthy, and she would want to stay around for a reward or at least an autograph. What kind of girl swims in tropical storms, rescues others, stays and sings songs to unconscious bodies, and disappears when help arrives?"
"Maybe she doesn't know who I am! Maybe…she was scared she would be blamed for my concussion," Ritsu reasoned weakly.
"Doesn't know who you are! ? Even ignoring the fact that you're one of the most famous child-star actresses, everyone in the tri-state area knows that only business tycoons and celebrities can afford these properties! It wouldn't have been hard to connect."
"Okay…I was just asking," Ritsu conceded quietly. "It's just…I can't get her song out of my head. I don't even know if I ever saw her, which probably has to do with the whole amnesia thing, so yeah, I know now she isn't real. I probably just heard some foreign song somewhere, and I need to find it on the internet. I won't mention it again!" Ritsu grinned. She stood up and walked upstairs to the computer in her room.
-.-
"Oh you poor, poor thing," a sultry voice rang.
Mio's tear-stained face popped up from her folded arms. Mugi hid in her lap. She looked for the source of the voice, but to no avail.
"…W-Wh-Who is it? Where are you?" Mio hiccupped, somewhat frightened.
"Darling, there's no need to be scared; I'm here to help," Ui came out of the shadows, an all-knowing smile on her face.
Mio recoiled at first, but she returned to her original position. This old lady appeared to be a mermaid, yet she had octopus tentacles. Something buzzed mildly in the back of her head about this lady, but she didn't converse with merfolk enough to identify the octopus lady. Besides, Mio felt her heart go out to the frailness of this lady, and elderly merfolk were nothing to be feared. Though it was strange how this old lady seemed to sway provocatively.
"How do you know I need help?" Mio asked innocently, eyes given a rest from crying.
Ui came up to dab her bony fingers upon Mio's pretty face, "A girl's tears are many but powerful. They tell of a story that wants, no, needs a happy ending," Ui gestured dramatically. "What exactly ails you, my darling?"
Mio felt an instant bond and trust towards this older, wiser mermaid. Mio was blind to Ui's ulterior motives, but Mio was not wrong in detecting a subdued sympathy in the lady. So she spoke without her usual reservation, "I'm in love, but my father is absolutely against it."
"Yes, fathers are known to fight off their daughter's suitors," Ui added conversationally.
"But…I'm in love with…a-a human. The most beautiful, graceful human that walks the world I'm sure, but he's still a human!" Mio threw her face in her hands.
Ui's brow quirked in confusion, then to slow amusement. The daughter believed the human to be a man. This was just too rich! The silly princess was certainly dotty; it was almost endearing…Ui got back on track by stroking Mio's back consolingly. The smooth skin made Ui nostalgic, only strengthening her resolve in her evil plans.
"This is certainly a difficult situation for such a young mermaiden…" Ui cooed. "You want to follow your unjust father's ruling, because you're a good daughter. But it would be so easy to just change your tailfin into legs and walk right up to your human an—"
"I can change my tailfin into human legs! ?" Mio perked up from this bit of information.
"Why—" Ui pretended to be surprised by Mio's outburst, "—yes, my darling. You can become a real human. Didn't I tell you before?—I'm here to help. I have just the right kind of magic for you!"
"You know magic?" Mio said. "I thought only my father had control of magic…"
"It came with the tentacles," Ui said truthfully, moving on, "Now in order to be a human, you'll have to make some sacrifices. Is that worth it for you? Think carefully," Ui lied, banking on teenagers' proclivity to reverse psychology or blatant ignoring of the older generation.
"Anything is worth it for love! Humans have hearts, just like mermans, so I believe it's our universal duty to love! !" Mio shouted with conviction. Mugi floated off of Mio's lap to pump her fin in the spirit.
Ui nodded along, somewhat swept away by Mio's girlish passion. Still, the teenager took the bait.
"Very well then. A most excellent choice, my darling. You're correct in that love is worth more than anything, because his—" Ui had to eat her derisive grin from saying this, "—love will permanently give you legs. You have exactly three days—no wait, it's already midday—you have exactly 60 hours to win his love. If you do not manage to complete this mission by midnight of the third day, you will belong to me."
Mio and Mugi gasped.
"Sorry, it's just how the magic works," Ui shrugged. "Now, in order for me to give you those legs for that time, I will need your greatest gift."
"But otou-san destroyed everything of mi—"
"Your greatest gift is your voice, darling. I suppose if you didn't know already, it won't be too hard to part with."
"How will I communicate with him? And I love to sing!" Mio cried helplessly.
"More than you love him?" Ui challenged. "Human men don't really listen for the voice of women. They'd rather look and touch. Actions speak louder than words, hm?" Ui said lasciviously.
"Well, I guess if that's true," Mio agreed ignorantly. "I'm really shy anyway. Even with my voice, I'd be too scared to say something embarrassing," she traced her cheek cutely.
"Precisely!" Ui cheered maliciously.
"How will I know he loves me back?" Mio wanted to iron this all out. She wasn't entirely buffoonish.
"The highest act—you must make love!" Ui chanted.
"Wow, he has to agree to fertilize my laid eggs?" Mio said in earnest.
"Darling, humans engage in the act quite differently from merfolk," Ui said a little teasingly.
"I know this one!" Mugi spoke for the first time, adding her two scales to the conversation. "Human men have this part between their legs. It's kind of like an eel. This eel goes into a small cave in between a human woman's legs. There inside, his eel releases the fertilizer onto the human woman's buried eggs," Mugi spoke while nodding her head, eyes closed.
Mio blanched terribly at this. She hated eels. They were the most horrifying creatures of the sea to her, and she wouldn't even care if humans ate them. The idea of a human having an eel connected to his body, and then it going into her. It just seemed disturbingly invasive and violent. She couldn't imagine her Prince Ritsu with an eel. She didn't remember seeing anything of the sort between his godly legs.
Meanwhile, Nodoka had finally found her charge, balking at the princess's company: Ui the Octopussy Witch! How did the princess always manage to get into such dangerous situations? Nodoka wanted to charge forward and of course say something, but Ui caught the crab with a binding spell, mouth included.
"Well my darling? Have you changed your mind? If you have, I must be going. I'm very busy after all…" Ui twirled in the other direction for emphasis.
"No, please wait!" Mio swam forward, grasping the old lady's withered arm. "I can't imagine a life where I'll always wonder and never know him. I have to try; please change me!"
"Done."
-.-
Mio found herself suddenly on the beach behind Ritsu's property. Luckily, the sky was overcast again this afternoon, so no one was out right now. Mio was very, very naked.
Mugi was in the coming and going water, giving Mio a fin's up for the new look.
Mio thereupon looked down at her new body, hips proportional to her breasts in an hourglass, and human supermodel legs. Fascinated with them, she tried to stand on them, but she abruptly fell over. She tried a few more times, and she figured out which muscles to rely on. It seemed as second nature as hovering in the water had been. Next was walking, but not before a scouting Yui spotted her.
"Ooooh, Mio-chan, you've gone to the other side!" Yui perched on the sand, looking up at a glowing Mio. "You are very special looking for a human," Yui observed.
Mio tried to speak, but she was suddenly reminded that she was without a voice. Her glow dimmed.
"Is that a good thing thing, Yui-chan?" Mugi asked.
"Maybe," Yui said nonchalantly. "But you'll definitely need an outfit if you want to fit in. I know the latest fashion trend nowadays. Wait right here." Yui flew out of sight for a minute, only to return with a large black, plastic bag. She pecked holes at the bottom for Mio's arms and head, and the opening of the bag would be the skirt.
With the help of the seagull Yui, Mio happily donned her first outfit. She officially looked like the poster child for The Great Depression.
A sudden barking could be heard, and it was seconds before Mio saw a large dog come after her. She literally was frozen to her spot, not having practiced walking yet. When the dog was about ready to cheerfully pounce her, she fell onto her side and bottom, much like she would be had she still possessed a Mer tailfin.
That's when Mio heard that untamable laughter. She looked up at the house to see a figure approaching. Jogging at an even pace, he managed to look perfect at this too. It was undoubtedly her Prince.
"You crazy Satoshi, what are you after no—" Ritsu couldn't finish.
The surfer had come within a few meters of her sheepdog circling and trying to lick a beached…girl? Oh yes. Definitely a girl with a face and body like that. That trash bag couldn't hide anything.
The star-crossed strangers wanted to say something. Mio was physically unable. Ritsu—like a boy going through puberty—felt her voice, perspective of the world, everything crack.
"Hi…" Ritsu said, dumbfounded.
-.-
Now for the awkward, one-sided conversations!